COLOMBO
\nIndia defeated the United States by 29 runs as a disciplined bowling attack helped the hosts comfortably defend a 162-run target in the third match of the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026 at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
\nSet to chase a daunting 162-run target, USA\u2019s batting unit could accumulate 132\/8 in their 20 overs despite an anchoring 58-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Milind Kumar and Sanjay Krishnamurthi.The duo attempted to launch a recovery after USA had been reduced to 13\/3 in 3.2 overs as Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh dismantled their top-order.
\nThe crucial stand was eventually broken by Varun Chakravarthy in the 12th over by dismissing Kumar, who made a run-a-ball 34. Krishnamurthi was then involved in a brief 27-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Shubham Ranjane before he fell victim to Axar Patel after scoring a 31-ball 37, laced with two sixes and a four.
\nFollowing his dismissal, USA lost two more wickets at an alarming rate, but Ranjane retaliated until the final delivery of the innings, which saw him get lbw off Siraj, who led India\u2019s bowling charge with economical figures of 3\/29 in his four overs. Ranjane remained the joint top-scorer for USA, making 37 off 22 deliveries with the help of three sixes and two fours.
\nBesides Siraj, Arshdeep and Axar Patel picked up two wickets each for India, while Chakravarthy chipped in with one scalp. USA captain Monank Patel\u2019s decision to field first paid dividends as his team\u2019s bowling attack jolted India\u2019s strong batting lineup and eventually restricted them to 161\/9 in 20 overs. The home side had a shaky start to their innings as top-ranked Abhishek Sharma fell for a golden duck with the scoreboard reading 8\/1 in 1.2 overs.
\nFollowing the early setback, Tilak Varma (25) and Ishan Kishan (20) raised an anchoring 37-run partnership for the second wicket in a bid to force recovery, but Shadley van Schalkwyk neutralised their efforts by dismissing both of them and Shivam Dube (zero) in the same over as India slipped to 46\/4.
\nSkipper Yadav then took the reins of India\u2019s batting expedition and kept the scoreboard ticking singlehandedly, but the USA continued to make inroads by dismissing Rinku Singh and Hardik Pandya cheaply.The Indian captain eventually received notable support from the other end in the form of Axar Patel, with whom he put together a crucial 41-run partnership for the seventh wicket.
\nYadav dominated the stand, while Axar contributed with an 11-ball 14 until falling victim to Mohammad Mohsin in the 17th over. Suryakumar Yadav continued his resilience following Axar\u2019s dismissal and led them to breach the 160-run barrier with an unbeaten 84 off 49 deliveries, studded with 10 fours and four sixes.
\nShadley van Schalkwyk was the standout bowler for the USA, taking four wickets for just 25 runs in his four overs, followed by Harmeet Singh with two, while Mohammad Mohsin and Ali Khan bagged one apiece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
COLOMBO India defeated the United States by 29 runs as a disciplined bowling attack helped the hosts comfortably defend a 162-run target in the third match of the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026 at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Set to chase a daunting 162-run target, USA\u2019s batting unit could accumulate 132\/8 in their 20 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-530318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n